Sartorius Stedim Biotech (SSB), a leading international pharmaceutical and biotech equipment supplier  of cutting-edge products and services for the development, quality assurance and production processes of the biopharmaceutical sector, has entered into a global development cooperation agreement with German-based em-tec GmbH, a leading flow measurement company. This highly specialized firm provides non-invasive flow engineering solutions for blood vessels and flexible tubing. Such technology designed by em-tec is used in the biopharmaceutical industry, among other sectors, in many process steps for accurate measurement of flow rates and mass balances. In particular, this technology is used in downstream processes, such as virus inactivation, as well as in ultrafiltration and diafiltration.

As part of this cooperation, the technology base of em-tec will be extended by jointly developed single-use components, such as FlowTube. Sartorius will exclusively market these as applications and distribute them worldwide as private label products under the brand name of BioPAT Flow.

SSB has continuously expanded its process analytics portfolio over the past years in the area of sensor technology to enable non-invasive, real-time measurement of critical process parameters, such as pH, dissolved oxygen, temperature, glucose, lactate and biomass. The new flow sensors are important new components that have been added to this portfolio. BioPAT Flow permits precise, reproducible data to be collected on flow rates and mass balances without coming in contact with the medium during measurement.

“The sensors make our downstream unit operations even more intelligent, significantly increasing the level of automation. Integrated into our system solutions, these sensors are powerful tools for designing robust biopharmaceutical processes and further optimizing them,” states Stefan Schlack, Senior Vice President of Marketing at SSB.

Dr. Hannspeter Schubert, managing director of em-tec, comments: “Sartorius Stedim Biotech is among the top global suppliers in automated bioprocess solutions and has a strong globally based sales and marketing network. We are pleased that Sartorius has opted for our basic technology of non-invasive flow rate measurement. The use of our sensors in fully integrated, automated bioprocesses represents an ideal application field and an innovative technological advance for us.”